Tag Archives: restaurant reviews

Alchemy (Brooklyn)

21 Feb

We were wandering around Brooklyn on a rainy evening after seeing a fantastic exhibit at Brooklyn Art Museum (Norman Rockwell… it’s thru April 10, 2011), looking fora  place to grab a bite.  We walked by a number of places and used Urban Spoon to find a recommended place.  Before we knew it, we had wandered to 5th Ave in Park Slope to find Alchemy (56 Fifth Avenue at Bergen Street).

Inside, there were a few small tables and then a few communal tables.

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We started with Herbed Goat Cheese in Philo Dough with watercress, pears and lime vinaigrette.  The Philo was perfectly crispy and the salad underneath was very good.  I also loved how the goat cheese paired with the pear.

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We got brussels sprouts and shells and cheese with bacon and peas as sides.  The sprouts were DELISH!  The shells and cheese needed more depth.

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Mike got the burger.  It was well cooked and the fries were well crisped.

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I chose the Grilled Hanger Steak (all natural angus beef) with herbed butter, mashed potatoes and kale.  The potatoes were DELICIOUS and the steak had a good char.  And what could be wrong with butter on steak? Nom nom nom.

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I’m always skeptical of kale that isn’t crispy, but this was perfectly cooked so the ultra bitter taste was gone and it was just delicious, greeny, garlicky goodness.

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The dessert menu had some great options…

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But I had to choose the Sticky Guinness Pudding with toffee sauce and candied hazelnuts.  How could I not?  And MMMMMM was it good!  I wanted to lick the plate.  The pudding itself was a bit overcooked, but the flavors were so good that it didn’t even matter.

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I don’t know why I am constantly surprised by how good food can be in Brooklyn.  We have been pretty lucky with our BK Stumble Upons.  Overall, Alchemy was better than good.  The price points are close to NY, and the food is NY quality.  I would go back here in a heartbeat.  I would love to try Alchemy for brunch.

Total Nom Points: 7 out of 10

Xie Xie- Before the End

17 Feb

We ate at Xie Xie long before Angelo Sosa made a splash on Top Chef.  I even blogged about it before and confessed my love for their 1000 year-old ice cream sandwiches (which got them a Runner Up title for best Noms of 2009).  Even after Angelo made it through his first season, we were impressed that when we were eating there, he was casually sitting around and greeting customers.  He seemed a very likable guys in person.

(WARNING: Top Chef Spoiler for last night’s episode, February 16th, 2011, is at the end)

We took a big group of friends there and got to try a huge variety of the sandwiches. 

This was the Fish Cha Ca La Vong with onion jam and sriracha mayo dill.  DSCF1607

 This was the Shredded Braised Chicken Sandwich. 

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And then… there was this… I have no idea what this was 🙂

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The Sweet Glazed Pork Sandwich on a Chinese Bun was perfectly offset with the cilantro.  I don’t think you can make a pork steamed bun that I won’t love.  One of my most favoritist foods.

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But my absolute favorite was the Vietnamese BBQ Beef Sandwich. 

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It is supposed to come with basil mayo and carrot kimchi…

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But I got mine sans kimchi

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Unfortunately, Xie Xie has since closed.  This is awful news because I LOVED that ice cream sandwich… And it’s GREAT news because I lurrrrrrved that ice cream sandwich too much.  Angelo Sosa has gone on to another venture that just recently opened called Social Eatz.  I can’t wait to try it!  I just hope the ice cream sandwich comes back some day…

TOP CHEF SPOILER:

Angelo Sosa surprisingly got kicked off tonight.  I know a lot of people found him annoying, but I liked him and always drooled when looking at his food.  I can’t wait to see what this guy does next… but I’m surprised he didn’t win Top Chef.

Cici’s Pizza

16 Feb

Mike and I have a funny goal to eat at the fast food restaurants we hear about on TV but that don’t exist in the neighborhood.  We recently crossed Sonic of the list, and we still have to eat at Joe’s Crab Shack, however, I was excited when my cousins said they would take us to a Cici’s.  (There is just 1 near NYC, in East Rutherford, NJ near Giants Stadium, however, there is also one in Cherry Hill, NJ).

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We found out that Cici’s advertises their pizza buffet at $4.99, however, due to the lovely price of real estate around NYC, this East Rutherford location needs to charge $5.99.  All you can eat for $5.99 sounds like a steal to me though!

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They also have pasta and breadsticks and something that might have been soup?  Hmm… I tried the breadsticks (not worth it) and the pasta (good if you like Chef Boyardee… which I have to say I do in a nostalgic kinda way)

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Then they have about a million varieties of pizza, and will make any variety you can dream up from their ingredients.

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They even have dessert, which was cinnamon buns and brownies (why not dessert pizza East Rutherford?)

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They also had some “thin crust” varieties (which is odd since their regular ones are pretty thin).

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For the “health conscientious” (HA) they have salad… and breadsticks.

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And they have white pies and extra cheese.

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99% of the pizza slices were just okay.  Cardboardy, as it has a reputation for, but at least the crust was a bit crisped, which helped.  But see that top slice in the picture below? Oh yes! That is macaroni and cheese pizza.  The cheese reminded me of velveeta, and in ALL the right ways. I could not get enough of this.  What could possibly be bad about velveeta style cheese on macaroni on top of crispy bread.  Yes please!  (This alone made the entire trip TOTALLY worth it).

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The brownies didn’t really look worthwhile, so I tried the mini cinnamon bun.  Ehhh… Cici’s needs to take a lesson from Cinnabon… MORE CINNAMON!  And the frosting shouldn’t just be white and stick… it should be made with powdered sugar and be nice and sweet!  Oh well.

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Most of Cici’s I would rate a completely average 5 Nom Points.   It’s a lovely value for the price, and Icould see it being a nice alternative for family’s who want to bring their family out for a fun night at a low price.  That Mac & Cheese pizza was a true 7.  Comfort food at its finest and cheapest!